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Click on a topic above
to begin.

Through fieldwork and
lab work, archaeologists have been piecing together
what happened to bring about the collapse of Copán,
once a thriving center of Maya civilization. In this
activity, you'll be following in the steps of the
archaeologists who studied Copán, looking for
clues to how it collapsed. You'll be trying to answer
two questions:

1. Why did Copán collapse?

2. Was the end a gradual decline or a rapid
fall?

To get started, click
on one of the topics to the left (monuments, houses,
bones, people, or botany). Use your Copán journal
to record important clues along the way.